Try Sanborn Maps-http://libguides.mnhs.org/maps/fi
Most citys have a collection of these map that show buildings and Industry and railroads in there planning and enginnering departments
CNW_4009Thank you but what happened to the GN line that ran south of Cedar lake(I am talking about the actual lake not the yard)?
That was the original route of what later became the G.N. line on the north side of Cedar Lake (the lake) that is today's BNSF line to Wayzata and westward to Willmar, etc. That original route ran southwesterly alongside of the M&StL to about Kenwood, and then it ran west along the south side of Cedar Lake (the lake). I if I recall correctly, the road along the south side of the lake is called Sunset Blvd. That was the orginal pre-Great Northern route. I guess that must have been the St. Paul, Minneapolis, & Manitoba R.R. That old route roadbed can be found here and there all though the suburbs and undeveloped land between Kenwood and Wayzata. It is quite evident in that Big Willow Park just east of the Minnetonka Mills location, on the south side of the current BNSF mainline there.
mudchicken Either look at an old USGS 7.5 minute quad or get a copy of the val map ($125-$200) from National Archives-2 RG134 or UPRR's map librarian in Omaha.
Depending on how much detail you need, Don Hofsommer's book _Minneapolis and the Age of Railways_ has an undated map showing locations (but not track layouts) of all yards in and around downtown Minneapolis on the inside back cover.
Dan
Looking at at Google Earth or Google Maps with the aerial background turned on:
Start at the intersection of I-94 and I-394 just west of downtown Minneapolis. Go west on I-394 until it crosses over a set of railroad tracks; this is the BNSF (GN) Wayzata Sub. Just west of I-394 you will see a junction where a track breaks away from the Wayzata Sub and goes off to the southwest; this line is owned by the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority, operated by Twin Cities & Western (TCW), approximately in line with the M&StL main line, and the most controversial segment of the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit alignment.
Right near the junction, southeast of the TCW track, is a grassy field with some bike trails going through it. It backs up against hill, on top of which sit some houses and then the Kenwood Parkway. This grassy area was the location of the M&StL Cedar Lake Yard.
If you trace back east across I-394, you see a huge parcel of land (split in half by the new Van White Memorial Blvd) belonging to the Minneapolis department of public works for, among other things, salt and sand storage. The GN had a yard here named Lyndale.
The M&StL ran along the south edge of that GN yard. I believe they had a small yard there as well, also called Lyndale. There is a yard office or depot building still standing there just east of I-94 along the Cedar Lake Trail - in the aerial it is the building just to the west of the tall cell tower.
Hope this helps.
CNW_4009, I hope you realize you just got a couple thousand dollars' worth of info for free.
mudchicken, you're very generous. Be careful about that . . .
- PDN.
CNW_4009 Where was the M&StL Cedar Lake Yard? Can you give me a map of it? Thank you.
Where was the M&StL Cedar Lake Yard? Can you give me a map of it?
Thank you.
* at the gore area between the BNSF Wayzata sub and the CP Bass Lake spur at Cedar Lake Junction. Had a roundhouse and large shop complex on the south side...UP/CNW/M&StL never had a large yard in town, just a string of smaller sattelite yards scattered everywhere.
Either look at an old USGS 7.5 minute quad or get a copy of the val map ($125-$200) from National Archives-2 RG134 or UPRR's map librarian in Omaha.
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